Senior coach of the Russian cross-country ski team Egor Sorine declared that the victory of the skier in his group Savelia Korosteleva more than three times Olympic champion Alexander Bolshunov participating in the mass start of the Russian Cup is an honor.
On Sunday, Korostelev won the 10-kilometer freestyle mass start at the PhosAgro Russian Cup final in Kirovsk. Alexey Chervotkin finished second, 9.2 seconds behind. Three-time Olympic champion Bolshunov (+14.8) closed the top three.
— Korostelev said after the finish of the uphill race that he was waiting for Bolshunov to jump from behind, as usual, but something went wrong. The three-time Olympic champion finished with all his strength. Do the consequences of the illness affect you? Or is Korostelev strong in the mountains?
— We have pretty much figured out what to expect from Bolshunov. He participated in the Tour de Ski, showing good results in the uphill stages. Moreover, this could not be said to be his strong point. At the same time, we didn’t know how Korostelev would feel during a long climb. It turned out he was a “miner.”
I cannot comment on Bolshunov’s condition, but beating the world leader in skiing is in any case pleasant and honorable. It’s expensive.
— A hill climb was organized for the first time in Russia. So the vast majority of skiers had no experience of such stages?
“And that’s why the result in men was unpredictable.” If Denis Spitsov had started, being in normal form, he would have become a clear favorite.
— In the men’s sprint rankings published on the website of the Russian Ski Racing Federation (FLGR), Ardashev even slightly beat Bolshunov. How to evaluate this fact?
— I am satisfied with Sergei’s progress, but the mark does not mean that Ardashev is stronger than Bolshunov in the sprint. All competitions of the season are taken into account here, including the summer championship, in which Alexandre did not participate. In Kirovsk, Sergei managed to win the sprint, but he lost all other starts to Bolshunov, Sorin was quoted as saying by the ROC information service.
From April 2 to 7, the finals of the “PhosAgro” Russian Cup took place in the Murmansk region.
Source : MatchTV
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